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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
What the eye can see, April 22 2007
For a blind person, it would seem like a dream come true to have their sight restored. But what if it came with a price? That is the idea behind the Pang Brothers' "The Eye" ("Jian gui"), one of the most minimalistic -- and chilling -- horror movies in years.
Wong Kar Mun (Angelica Lee) has been blind since she was two, but a cornea transplant restores her sight. At first she can only see blurry figures. But then, Mun sees shadowy phantoms leading away the spirits of the dead. Even worse, she sees the ghosts of suicides lingering on, doomed to repeat their deaths until they are put to rest.
Horrified by this, she goes to her psychotherapist Dr. Wah (Lawrence Chou) for help. Stretching professional ethics, the lovestruck doctor manages to get the records of the donor, and they go to see her family in a rural village. And guided by dreams and visions, Mun learns of the tragic life of a girl, Ling, who could foresee death...
If you like serial killers, buckets of blood and screaming blondes in your horror movies, don't watch "The Eye." As a horror movie, it will be too subtle, too quiet, and too full of intelligent questions about life and death.
There are only a couple of real "horror" moments in here, where things look grotesque. Most of the time, it's psychological in nature; at one point, we hear that suicides are doomed to repeat their deaths -- it's horrifying enough to contemplate someone killing themselves, but doing it over and over? Even worse, we see this in action.
And the Pang Bros. handle this wonderfully. Many of the ghosts appear and vanish quickly, giving a shock to the audience; at other times, they explore the changes that sight brings to Mun's life. But at the same time, the Bros. add a softer side to this movie, such as Ling's reconciliation with her mother. It's a credit to the Bros. that this is touching, not syrupy.
A lot of the impact of the film can be credited to Lee and Chou. Lee especially, for showing a range of emotions, including joy, grief, hysteria and peaceful acceptance. Boyishly handsome Chou balances out Mun in a very believable, by merely being a pillar of strength and believing her seemingly crazy stories. The only flaw is that he seems to fall for her too quickly.
The DVD also comes with a very insightful featurette, which sheds a lot of light on the film's background and production. The actors talk about their characters, the directors talk about creating gas explosions and ghosts. And we hear from the people whose stories inspired the ghosts in this film, such as the guy standing in the highway.
With good acting and a really chilling script, "The Eye" is one of the rarest kinds of horror -- the kind that horrifies the mind, rather than the stomach. Mesmerizing and really spooky.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Eye See Dead People, Nov 17 2003
Mun is a young girl who lost her vision when she was 2 years old. Eighteen years later, through the miracle of modern medicine, she receives a cornea transplant. It is successful and she can now see the world around her. But the transplant has an unexpected side effect, she can see dead people. The Eye is an eerie and extremely effective ghost story. The theme is similar the Sixth Sense, but I would not consider it to be a copy, but more of a compliment to the ideas presented in that film. The muted colors of the film give it a cold and creepy atmosphere. Scares are accomplished with unsettling and disturbing visuals instead of shock and gore. Characters are well established and you find yourself caring for the poor girl who gets the spooky vision. The events build up to a good conclusion and an ending with a twist. The picture and sound quality of the DVD are good. Effective use of surround sounds on the Dolby 5.1 track adds to the scary tone of the movie. The language track is Mandarin Chinese with English sub-titles. There is no English language track as this movie was made for the Asian market. The picture is sharp and presented in widescreen format. Some of the plot elements are cliché and predictable, but the movie is genuinely creepy. I've seen so many horror films that I am pleasantly surprised when a movie can make the hair on my arms stand up. The film rights have already been picked up by a US production company (ala the Ring). The movie is not perfect, but if you are a horror movie buff this is a good way to expand your horizons a little. Recommended.
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0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Boring, Jul 9 2004
The Eye is slow and not that frightening. I was watching it and got so bored I had to turn it off. It was a total bore.
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